Sunday, November 30, 2008

Whose Idea Was Beyonce's Shiny Robot Glove?

Leslie Gornstein

Los Angeles (E! Online) – What is that new hand that Beyonce has? Is it a robot hand? Is it superstrong?

--B Fan, Yonkers

See? I told you. The Cylons. They look like us now.

The handpiece you mention--alternately known among fashion reporters as the roboglove, the gling or Anti-Rihanna Death Grip--actually was handcrafted by Beyonce's longtime jeweler, New York-based Lorraine Schwartz. Despite Internet rumors that the piece was fashioned of pure gold--possibly in the legendary Elven forges at Rivendell--it's actually made of...

...titanium!

And, according to sources close to the gling, it's also one of a kind and therefore close to priceless.

More details on the roboglove? Sure.

• Schwartz had her artisans working day and night on the piece, laboring 24 hours a day until it was complete.

• It fits literally like a glove. Beyonce's entire upper arm was cast in wax so that the titanium piece would wrap perfectly.

• It's actually several pieces, including a ring, a glove and a separate component that covers the upper arm. It can be worn all together or separately.

• It looks heavier than it is. Titanium is about 45 percent lighter than steel.

• Beyonce really, really doesn't want to take it off. She wore it on Saturday Night Live. She wore it in her "Single Ladies" video. She wore it in her cover spread for Gotham magazine. She wore it on the red carpet at the MTV Europe Awards.

• The glove was Beyonce's concept all the way, I am told--a "superpower" hand to complement the singer's new Sasha Fierce ego.

Speaking of fierce, the white-hot flame of truth doesn't stop for a turkey. Look for more answers to your burningest Q's later this week.

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